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Flynatic.com > First flight of Cirrus Vision SF50 Jet

2014-03-25 First flight of Cirrus Vision SF50 Jet

Cirrus announced it has achieved a significant milestone in its Vision SF50 personal jet program with the successful first flight of certification aircraft "C-Zero" (C0).

Cirrus Vision SF50 is a seven seat, pressurized, single engine jet and the newest airplane in Cirrus' line of composite high performance personal aircraft.

Cirrus Aircraft Director of Engineering Flight Test and Chief Test Pilot Mike Stevens flew C0 on a one-hour sortie and reported "The Vision Jet handled and performed very well and all systems functioned properly, just what you want in a first flight. Congratulations to the entire team on today's accomplishment." said Terry Shriner, Cessna business leader for the Latitude.


First flight of Cirrus Vision SF50 (image: Cirrus)

"The first flight of C0 is the latest milestone of many 'firsts' for general aviation at Cirrus. Today's successful test flight marks another significant step toward our goal of elevating the personal flying experience with a clean sheet airplane design. The engineers, technicians, designers and all Cirrus employees that have worked tirelessly on the Vision Jet program are justifiably proud today. In the last 12 months we have made such great progress in all areas of the program and we anticipate fulfilling the first of our 500-plus customer reservations late next year." said Dale Klapmeier, CEO and Co-founder, Cirrus.

The first flight included systems checks of controllability, maneuverability, flight envelope testing and speed performance at an intermediate altitude. This initial flight paves the way for future flight performance and systems testing.

C0 is the first of three conforming flight test aircraft for the Vision SF50 program. A conforming vehicle means the airplane is substantially built and inspected to formal aircraft type design. C0 was assembled from production-ready drawings, tooling and manufacturing processes.

Cirrus Vision SF50 is a personal jet designed to fill the significant gap between high performance piston singles and light jets. Simple to fly and easy to own and operate, the Vision is designed to be a straightforward transition for pilots of high-performance aircraft, such as the Cirrus SR22T. It features a high-end cruise speed of 300 KTAS, advanced avionics, the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) and an all-carbon fiber structure. With a list price of USD 1.96 million and seating up to five adults and two smaller passengers in an expansive cabin, Vision Jet sets a new standard in luxury and flexibility for pilots and passengers.

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